Paragraph Writing: Using TEEEL Structure

Topic Sentence

E.g. While the Muslim empires of the 14th-16th centuries had significant impacts on the world, they never came to dominate as Europe will because... (remember "rule of 3")

  • The inheritors of the greatest rulers were not as successful
  • The Ottoman and Safavid Empires did not have competitive/good rulers after the great
  • Harsh laws (The Mughal Empire) and increase in taxes

Elaboration

Write one or two sentences explaining your topic sentence. E.g. location? time period?

  • The Ottoman Empire in Turkey ( 1300s - 1920s)

  • Safavid Empire in Persia ( 1500s - 1720s)
  • Mughal Empire in India ( 1500s - 1850s)

Examples/Evidence

Explain specific evidence/examples for your 3 choices in your topic sentence.

  • During the Ottoman and Safavid Empire's reign, the greatest rulers had ordered the death of their siblings and children in fear of having their power taken.
  • The sultans that inherited the position of Suleiman were not accomplished enough as him, and so the Ottoman Empire declined. The same went for the Safavid Empire, for the grandsons were not as talented as the children of Shah Abbas.
  • After the death of Akbar, the successors ignored the previous religious tolerances and made new harsh laws that were against Hindus, and taxes increased.

Explanation/analysis

E.g. Clearly the administrative methods used by some of the leaders of the Muslim Empires hurt their ability to rise to world dominance because...This should be about 4 sentences in length.

  • Failed to be as accomplished as the previous great leader.
  • Killing own talented children affected successors because they were more inexperienced and weak. Who was going to be the successor if Shah Abbas and Suleiman killed their talented children?
  • Sultans that inherited the throne after Suleiman were not as accomplished, and so the empire gradually declined
  • The religious tolerances were ignored after the reign of Akbar, which soon led to rebellion. Taxes were also increased due to more building plans, and so many people suffered

Link Sentence

The reason why the Muslim Empire never came to dominance as Europe will was because of the fact that...

  • The inheritors of the greatest rulers were not as successful
  • Plans regarding the future (including future rulers) were not at hand (they were not considered carefully)